Yeast-free layer cake. "Napoleon" from ready-made puff pastry without yeast

Not every housewife can boast of the ability to bake a delicious Napoleon cake. To prepare homemade puff pastry, you need to have special skills and follow the recipe exactly. Modern sweet tooths are lucky, since their favorite cake can be prepared from dough prepared by professional confectioners. Accordingly, the risk of failure is minimal. The housewife only needs to roll out the dough and prepare the custard herself.

Cake recipe made from store-bought puff pastry

Ingredients for cooking:

1 package of puff pastry without yeast (1 kg);
100 g chopped walnuts for decoration.

a) If you decide to cook it yourself:

4 eggs;
liter carton of milk;
2 cups sugar;
3 spoons of flour.

b) Using dry concentrate:

3 packs of custard;
1 liter of milk.

Sequence of cake preparation

Frozen dough must be gradually heated. In the warm season, the mass is defrosted on the way from the store. If this does not happen, transfer the dough from the freezer to the refrigerator overnight. An hour before cooking, expose to air.
Remove the packaging and divide the strip into 8 equal parts.
Each strip must be divided in half to make 16 cakes.
The shortbread should be rolled out as thin as possible. The shape must be selected to match the size of the baking sheets. When forming the cakes, the table and rolling pin are thoroughly sprinkled with flour.
Place parchment paper on the baking container, lay out the crust and sprinkle with flour. Before baking, the layers must be pierced with a fork to make the cakes airy.
Place the baking sheet in the oven, preheated to 200 degrees. The cakes are baked for 5-12 minutes.
Once the cakes have turned golden brown, remove them from the oven. All 16 servings are prepared in this way.

Preparation of cream:

A) On your own:

Beat eggs with sugar in a blender to prepare a homogeneous mass.
The milk is heated over low heat. A mixture of eggs and sugar is gradually added to it.
To ensure that the cream does not burn and that the mixture is homogeneous, the mixture must be stirred throughout cooking.
Flour is gradually added to the cream after the egg-sugar mass.
After boiling, the cream should be removed from the stove and cooled.

B) From the finished concentrate:

Each custard package describes the preparation method in detail.

Pour the composition of the sachet into cold milk and bring to a boil over low heat. In order to prevent the appearance of lumps, the ingredients can be blended with a blender before brewing. As a rule, 1 sachet of dry cream is designed for 250-300 ml of milk.
The resulting mass is generously applied to the cooled cakes.

For Napoleon puff with custard, leave 1 cake layer for decoration. It is pre-crushed and mixed with nuts.

The cake is served on the table a few hours later. The cakes should be thoroughly soaked in cream.

The Napoleon layer cake first appeared in the late 19th century. French confectioners originally prepared it in the form of a cake decorated with custard, whipped cream and strawberries. Modern masters add new ingredients to an old recipe. Now, you can try the cake with butter cream or condensed milk. At home, Napoleon cake is most often prepared from ready-made puff pastry with custard or according to old grandmother's recipes.

Cut the dough using sharp movements with a sharp knife. Otherwise, the cakes will not be thin and crispy;
The dough should not be allowed to re-freeze;
The cakes must be baked on baking paper without fat;
It is strictly forbidden to put the dough in a cold oven;
To soak the cake faster, you can place a cutting board on top. At the same time, you should not press so as not to deform or squeeze out the cream;
Smart housewives prepare the cakes the day before making the cake. This is very convenient on holidays when you need to prepare a large number of dishes.

Often, homemade Napoleon differs from the one purchased in a candy store by the lack of crunch and too thick cake layers. In order for the cake to turn out perfect, and for the guests to ask for the recipe, you must follow all the recommendations and start cooking in a good mood.

Puff pastry is well suited for sweet and savory pastries. It also makes delicious layer cakes. We invite you to familiarize yourself with the simplest dessert options that even a novice cook can make without much difficulty.

Napoleon is a delicate and simple dessert that is easy to make with your own hands:

egg yolks – 5 units;
puff pastry without yeast – 1 ½ kg;
sugar – 400 g;
flour – 250 g;
milk – 1 l 200 ml;
vanilla sugar – 1 tsp;
cognac – 10 ml;
walnuts – 200 g.

Cooking process:

Defrost the dough.
For the cream, boil the milk and cool. Mix flour with sugar and yolks, add cognac and mix. Pour in the milk, stir the mixture thoroughly until smooth and put on low heat. Stirring constantly with a spoon, cook the cream until thickened. Cool.
Sprinkle the table with flour, roll out the dough and cut it into approximately equal 5-6 pieces.
Bake the cakes. To do this, place one layer on a baking sheet with baking paper, bake for 10 minutes, then turn over to the other side and bake for the same amount of time. Perform the operation with each layer. If there are any scraps left, bake them, grind them into crumbs and use them to sprinkle on the cake.
Nuts should also be chopped.
Cut the cakes lengthwise into 2 parts when they have cooled.
Layer them with cream, sprinkling it with nuts. Let the confectionery structure soak for at least half an hour.

When the dessert becomes soft, you can trim off any rough edges. Afterwards, be sure to put the puff pastry cake in the refrigerator to harden.

A simple recipe in a frying pan

Cakes:

1 can of condensed milk;
egg;
½ tsp. soda;
1 tbsp. l. vinegar;
3 tbsp. l. flour.

Cream:

750 ml milk;
4 tbsp. l. flour;
1 ½ tbsp. l. Sahara;
2 eggs;
packing of butter.

Test preparation:

Dissolve baking soda in vinegar and pour into a bowl. Beat in the egg and shake the mixture with a fork. Add condensed milk to it and mix again.
Sift the flour into the dough and knead the dough. It will turn out soft, tender and almost non-stick to your hands.
Divide it into 8 - 10 identical parts and roll into layers up to 3 mm thick. The size of the workpieces should be suitable for the bottom of the frying pan, in which they need to be fried without oil for a couple of minutes on each side.
To make the cake even, stack the cakes and cut them to the diameter of the selected lid or plate. The best option is a split form. Finely chop the trimmings.

The next stage is cream:

Beat eggs, flour and sugar until mushy.
Pour milk into the resulting mixture and stir.
Place the mixture on low heat and stir as soon as it starts to heat up.
When the cream thickens, add the butter and stir, helping it melt.

The cream and cake layers are ready, all that remains is to assemble the cake.

To do this, place the cake in a springform pan and pour a little cream over it. We repeat the procedure until we run out of blanks. During the process you need to press them a little.
Sprinkle crumbs over the top of the cake.
Place it in the refrigerator for 2 – 3 hours.

To prevent the dessert from becoming deformed when removing, run a thin knife along the edge of the mold, separating it. Next, open and remove the form.

Just a note. A lot of cream is obtained from the specified amount of ingredients, so each cake can be poured thickly with it. You shouldn’t skimp on impregnation, otherwise the dessert will turn out dry.

Instant chocolate dessert

400 g puff pastry;
1 yolk;
1 can of ready-made chocolate mousse;
50 g powdered sugar;
100 g chocolate without additives;
250 ml milk.

Roll out 2 layers, brush with yolk and bake in the oven until golden.

Squeeze out the mousse onto 1 cake layer, giving it the shape of flowers, snails or any other shape. Cover with the second cake layer.

Melt chocolate and milk in a saucepan. Pour the glaze over the cake and put it in the refrigerator for 2 - 3 hours.

Layer cake Log with condensed milk

“Log” cake with condensed milk is a simple and favorite treat for those with a sweet tooth:

1 can of condensed milk;
half a stick of butter;
450 g store-bought yeast-free puff pastry.

Preparation:

Defrost the dough, roll out and cut into strips approximately 2 - 3 cm thick. Place them on a baking sheet and bake at 200 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes.
Beat butter with condensed milk.
On the table we fold the film in several layers - with its help we will form a “log”.
Place the finished plates next to each other (approximately 4-6 pieces) and cover them with a thick layer of cream. We place a few more plates on top, again make a cream layer and continue this way until the products run out.
Then we cover the entire log with one edge of the film, and with the other we wrap the cake as tightly as possible so that it hardens tightly and does not fall apart when slicing.

We leave the dessert, like the others, in the refrigerator overnight.

“Monastery hut” made from puff pastry

500 g puff pastry;
2 tbsp. pitted cherries;
500 g sour cream with at least 30% fat content;
1 tbsp. powdered sugar.

Preparation is simple:

Defrost the dough and cut into 15 rectangular pieces, roll each one out.
Place the berries on the resulting blanks and seal the edges to create oblong tubes filled with berry filling.
We bake the tubes at 200 degrees. You don’t need much time – 15 – 20 minutes is enough. Afterwards, remove them from the oven and cool.
All that remains is to prepare the cream by whipping sour cream and powder.
Place 5 tubes on a flat plate and pour cream over them. The next layer is 4 tubes and again cream. We continue to lay out layers, each time using 1 strip less. The result will be a slide reminiscent of a monastery hut made of beams. Top the dessert with the remaining cream.

The cake should be refrigerated for several hours and sprinkled with flaked almonds or cookie dough crumbs before serving.

Just a note. Instead of cherries, you can put pieces of dried fruit or jam in this dessert.

Quick baking with curd cream

puff pastry sheet;
250 g cottage cheese;
3 eggs;
100 g cream of any fat content;
5 tbsp. l. Sahara;
vanillin;
1 tsp. baking powder;
1 tbsp. l. flour.

The preparation of the pie is as follows:

Roll out the dough sheet a little and place it in a baking dish so that it covers the bottom and sides.
Using a blender, mix cottage cheese with eggs, cream and other ingredients.
Pour the filling over the dough. The edges of the workpiece can be slightly tucked over the filling.
All that remains is to bake the cake at 180 degrees until golden brown.

Just a note. You can place fruit slices on top of the filling before baking or sprinkle it with cinnamon.

With custard

For homemade puff pastry:

250 g flour;
200 g margarine;
1 yolk;
¼ tsp. salt;
2 tsp. vinegar;
100 ml ice water.

For cream:

350 ml milk;
100 g sugar;
30 g butter;
a pinch of salt;
2 tsp. vanilla sugar;
30 g flour;
2 eggs.

Preparation of the dough:

In a glass, mix the yolk, salt, vinegar and water. Beat well until smooth. Place the workpiece in the refrigerator.
Meanwhile, on a work surface, sift the flour and add margarine. To make it easier to grind, it is recommended to roll the bar in flour from time to time.
Grind margarine shavings with flour by hand.
We collect the mass in a slide. Take the dough from the refrigerator and water the mound, kneading the dough by hand. There is no need to knead much - just mix the ingredients together.
We collect the lump in a bag, squeeze it well, releasing all possible air, and put it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, or better yet, overnight.
Roll out the dough. Its thickness should be about 3 mm, and its size should be 40 cm by 35 cm (+/– 3 cm). We cut it into 8 identical rectangles. Place them on a baking sheet.

Cream for layer cake:

Place the dry ingredients in a bowl, mix and then pour in a third of the milk and eggs. Beat with a whisk.
In a saucepan, heat the milk and butter and almost bring to a boil. Let it cool and pour the egg-milk mixture into it in a stream. The food should not be hot, otherwise the egg may curdle. While pouring, stir the mixture with a whisk.
Place the saucepan back on low heat and cook the cream until thickened. Be sure to stir it so it doesn't start to burn. The cream should resemble homemade sour cream in consistency.

Next, it remains to assemble the puff pastries:

Place the frozen cream in a pastry bag and make stripes on the dough plates in the middle.
We grease one edge of the plates with yolk and glue it to the second. We make small cuts on top of the workpiece and grease them with yolk.
Bake at 190 – 210ºС for 20 – 25 minutes.

Millefeuille with lemon layer

puff pastry – 450 – 500 g;
milk – 250 ml;
yolk – 2 units;
sugar – 80 g;
flour – 80 g;
lemon zest - from 1 lemon;
favorite fresh fruits and berries – 100 g;
mint leaves for garnish (optional)

Preparation of mille-feuille:

To create the cream, you need to beat the yolks and sugar. Heat the milk a little and pour into the sweet mixture. Add the zest and mix everything well. Sift the flour and mix everything with a spatula. Simmer slightly until thickened, stirring constantly. Cool and leave in the refrigerator.
Roll out the dough thinly (up to 3 - 5 mm) and cut into equal rectangles/squares, as you like. Place the preparations on a baking sheet, sprinkle with powder and bake for 10 minutes until golden brown. Take them out and let them cool.
Using a pastry bag, place cream in stripes or rosettes on ⅔ of the plates. Fold 2 plates of cream and cover the structure with an empty blank on top. Pieces of fresh fruit can be placed on the surface of the dessert.

Styopka - disheveled

Dough:

3 tbsp. flour;
300 g margarine;
¾ tbsp. water;
½ tsp. salt;
1 tsp. vinegar;
¼ tsp. citric acid.

Cream:

¾ tbsp. flour;
1 ½ tbsp. Sahara;
4 eggs;
750 ml milk;
200 g butter;
vanillin.

This cake is a variation of the well-known “Napoleon”. The dough is made in the same way, but the cream is different from the classic Soviet-era dessert.

Beat the yolks with half the required amount of sugar until light in color appears.
Heat ⅔ of the prepared milk a little.
Pour the remaining liquid into the yolks and stir well.
Sift the flour into this mixture, stir, and then gradually pour in warm milk and beat the resulting mass thoroughly.
Place the cream in a water bath and cook until thickened. Afterwards, leave to cool.
Beat the whites with the remaining sugar until peaks appear. Place in a water bath to warm up a little, but not too much, otherwise the whites will cook.
1 tbsp. l. corn starch;
powdered sugar.

Preparation:

Thaw the berries in a saucepan and mix them with sugar and starch over low heat. Heat until the sweet sand dissolves.
Roll out the dough and cut into squares. You can form roses or just press the middle a little with a glass.
Place the berries in the center.
Brush the dough with yolk.
Bake the dessert at 200ºC for 25 minutes.
Before serving, sprinkle the puff pastries with powdered sugar.

Snack puff pastry with chicken

500 g puff pastry;
500 g chicken fillet;
1 onion;
1 tsp. mustard;
40 g butter;
salt, pepper

Step-by-step preparation:

Rinse the fillet and cut into cubes. Peel and finely chop the onion. Mix the meat with onions and spices and leave to marinate.
Defrost the dough, roll out, cut into squares.
Place a spoonful of filling with a small piece of butter in the center of the squares. Brush the edges with yolk and glue them together with envelopes. Treat the top with yolk to make it golden brown.
Place the envelopes on a baking sheet and bake at 200ºC for about a third of an hour.

Puff pastries and puff cakes are an excellent option for home baking that do not require any preparation time or special skills. Do not deny yourself the pleasure of pleasing your loved ones and enjoying a delicious, but at the same time, simple dessert.

Puff pastry cake is a delicacy that is prepared using simple technology. The dessert turns out juicy, sweet and tender. We offer the most interesting and popular cooking recipes for housewives.

It takes time to prepare the dough correctly. Therefore, we suggest preparing a delicacy in a matter of minutes from purchased dough. In the classic version, custard is used for impregnation.

Ingredients:

Vanilla sugar - a bag;
flour – 75 g;
milk – 1 liter;
puff pastry – 1000 g;
sugar – 240 g;
butter – 40 g;
egg – 3 pcs.

Preparation:

1. Remove the dough from the freezer and defrost it naturally. Place the oven on preheat (180 degrees).
2. Sprinkle flour on the table. Tear a piece of dough from the total mass and roll it out. Place on a baking sheet and bake for a quarter of an hour.
3. Repeat the process several more times until the dough is finished. The cakes should be the same size.
4. After all the pieces have cooled, you need to cut each cake in half and trim the edges to make even, identical rectangles.
5. Separately, beat the eggs with flour. Add sugar and beat.
6. Warm the milk and pour in the mixture in a thin stream. It is necessary to constantly stir all the time. To make it more convenient, use a whisk. When you notice bubbles on the surface, remove the cream from the heat.
7. Add butter, then vanilla. Beat and cool.
8. After coating with cream, place the cakes on top of each other on a plate. Coat the top and sides of the last cake with cream.
9. Chop the trimmings. Sprinkle dessert on all sides. Place in the refrigerator and leave for seven hours.

A simple recipe in a frying pan

Please your loved one with a delicious dessert soaked in delicate curd cream. And if you want to diversify the taste of the delicacy, you can add any jam to the filling.

Ingredients:

Apple cider vinegar – 1 tbsp. spoon;
flour - 3 mugs;
cold water – 160 ml;
egg – 1 pc.;
salt - a pinch;
butter – 200 g softened.

Cream:

Butter – 75 g softened;
vanilla – 0.3 teaspoon;
cottage cheese – 650 g;
yolk – 3 pcs.;
sugar – 140 g.

Preparation:

1. Pour an egg into the oil. Add some salt. Pour in water and vinegar. Beat. Add flour and knead the dough. Place in the refrigerator for an hour.
2. Grind the cottage cheese through a sieve. Pour in the yolks. Sprinkle with sugar. Add vanilla. Beat. Add butter. Beat. Place on low heat. Cook until thickened. Cool.
3. Roll the dough into a sausage and cut into 10 pieces. Roll.
4. Heat the frying pan and coat it with a little oil. You can use a silicone brush to help. Place the flatbread and fry until golden brown on each side. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Cool. To prevent the cakes from puffing up, pierce the cakes with a fork before cooking.
5. After coating with cream, place the cakes on top of each other. Trim the edges to make the cake even. Decorate the dessert with scraps.

Instant chocolate dessert

This option differs from the classic Napoleon recipe, but nevertheless it turns out aromatic and tasty.

Ingredients:

Flour – 500 g;
salt - a pinch;
chocolate butter – 400 g, softened;
lemon juice – 1 tbsp. spoon;
cocoa – 30 g;
egg – 1 pc.;
cold water – 280 g.

Cream:

Cocoa – 40 g;
sour cream – 300 ml;
sugar – 80 g.

Preparation:

1. Pour an egg into the water. Add lemon juice and cocoa. Add some salt. Add butter and beat. Add flour and knead the dough. Cool in the refrigerator.
2. Cut into eight pieces and roll out the cakes. Bake each separately in the oven. 180 degree mode. Cook until golden brown. Cool.
3. Pour sugar and cocoa into sour cream. Beat. Coat the cakes with the resulting cream. Trim around the edges and sprinkle the dessert with scraps.

Layered cake “Log” with condensed milk

Cake log made from puff pastry with condensed milk is a simple dessert that can decorate any holiday table.

Ingredients:

Butter – 360 g;
dough – 500 g puff pastry;
cognac – 20 ml;
condensed milk – 280 g.

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven (220 degrees).
2. Unroll the finished dough layer and cut into strips. You can make the length arbitrary, the main thing is that all strips have the same length. The width is no more than two centimeters.
3. Grease the baking sheet and lay out the strips. Bake for a quarter of an hour.
4. Spread cling film. Lay out strips in one layer and coat with cream. Cover with a second layer and spread with filling. Repeat until the strips run out. For sprinkling, leave two strips without cream. Form a log. Wrap in film and keep on the table for an hour. Place in the refrigerator overnight.
5. Remove the film. Cover with remaining cream. Chop the remaining strips into crumbs and sprinkle over the log. If there is no cream left, you can coat it with regular condensed milk.

“Monastery hut” made from puff pastry

An amazing cake made from puff pastry without yeast with cherry flavor.

Ingredients:

Puff pastry – 250 g;
egg – 150 g;
frozen cherries – 320 g;
sweet cottage cheese – 400 g;
flour – 75 g;
heavy cream – 550 ml;
sugar – 75 g.

Preparation:

1. Pour sugar and flour into eggs. Beat. Pour into a mold and bake in the oven. 180 degree mode. This will form the base for the cake.
2. Roll out the puff pastry. Divide into five strips. Place a cherry on the edge and wrap it in a tube. Seal the edges and place seam side down on a baking sheet. Bake for half an hour.
3. Place cottage cheese in the cream and beat. The mass should be dense and stable.
4. Coat the base with cream. Lay out three tubes. Apply cream. Place two tubes. Apply cream. Place the remaining dough on top and coat the entire dessert thoroughly with cream. Place in the refrigerator overnight.

Quick baking with curd cream

When guests are on the doorstep and there is a piece of ready-made dough, you can quickly prepare a delicious delicacy.

Ingredients:

Puff pastry – 500 g;
sugar – 85 g;
sour cream – 250 g;
cottage cheese – 350 g.

Preparation:

1. Roll out five flat cakes from the dough. Bake separately in the oven (180 degrees). Cook until golden brown.
2. Pour sugar into the cottage cheese. Pour in sour cream. Beat.
3. Turn one cake into crumbs. Coat the remaining cakes with cream and place on top of each other. Coat the surface of the dessert with cream and sprinkle with crumbs.

To ensure that the dough rises evenly and does not swell, make punctures with a fork over the entire surface.

Lazy dessert with berries

A very quick cake for housewives who don’t like to waste time on cooking.

Ingredients:

Puff pastry – 1 kg;
cherry – 12 tbsp. spoon;
sunflower oil;
sour cream – 0.5 liters;
flour;
powdered sugar – 4 tbsp. spoons;
cherry syrup – 25 tbsp. spoons

Preparation:

1. Roll out four layers. Grease a baking sheet with oil. Make punctures with a fork all over the surface. Bake for a quarter of an hour in the oven (220 degrees).
2. Bake all layers. Trim the edges.
3. Soak the cakes with syrup. Set aside for five minutes. Coat with sour cream. Arrange the berries. Sprinkle with powder. Place the pieces on top of each other.
4. Coat the entire workpiece with the remaining sour cream and sprinkle with scraps.

With custard

A very simple cooking option using available ingredients.

Ingredients:

Sugar – 1 cup;
puff pastry – 500 g ready-made;
vanillin – 0.5 packet;
butter – 200 g soft;
milk – 0.5 cups;
egg – 1 pc.

Preparation:

1. In a saucepan, mix the egg with sugar. Grind. The mass should turn white. Add vanilla. Stir. Pour in milk and put on fire. Wait until bubbles appear and remove from heat. Cool.
2. Divide the dough into five parts. Roll. Bake each cake separately in the oven. 180 degree mode. Cool.
3. Coat the cakes with the prepared cream, placing them on top of each other. Coat the top and sides with cream as well.

Recipes for making cakes at home with photos

4 hours

380 kcal

5/5 (5)

I first encountered puff pastry when my mother baked a special cake for my fifth birthday. Cooking it was like a sacrament, and the smell, taste and appearance of the finished “Napoleon” were forever imprinted in my memory, as was my love for this cake (although at that time I only got one piece). Since then, I have tried many different desserts and cakes and I can safely say that the most delicious cakes are made from puff pastry. In my family, everyone has their own favorite Napoleon recipe, and a birthday without this cake is not a birthday!

The first cake called “Napoleon” appeared in 1912 in Moscow, when they celebrated the 100th anniversary of the victory over France. It was then that people first saw puff pastries with cream in the shape of the emperor's cocked hat. In France, a similar cake is called “1000 layers”.

I want to offer two recipes: the first for those who adore this cake, but are afraid of gaining weight - a puff pastry cake with sour cream, and the second (quick option) - for those who do not have the conditions to fully prepare the cake, but do not have the strength to refuse from “Napoleon” (I prepared this in the army and in the student dormitory).

Kitchen appliances and utensils: first option - mixer (whisk), sieve, deep bowl, cling film, oven with baking sheet, parchment, large knife, spoon, rolling pin, fork, dish; the second option is an oven with a baking sheet, parchment paper, a deep bowl, a rolling pin, a spoon, a fork, a mixer (or whisk), and a dish.

Required Products

First option.

For the test:

For cream:

Second option.

The cake is baked from ready-made puff pastry:

For cream:

Features of product selection

In the first option, you should pay attention to sour cream. The sour cream should be thicker (it will whip better).

To prepare a “quick” cake, you will need ready-made puff pastry. Napoleon cake is not made from puff pastry, therefore, when purchasing, you should pay attention to the inscriptions on the packaging, it should be “puff-free yeast-free” or simply “puff”.

The assortment is large, but when choosing, you should keep in mind that the dough, rolled into a tube, is very thin (you can hardly roll it out).

Layered Napoleon cake with butter and condensed milk cream can be stored in the freezer for seven days - this will not affect the taste. To defrost, you can simply leave it in the room for 2-3 hours or put it in the refrigerator overnight.

It is better to purchase condensed milk already boiled (like “Toffee”).

How to make puff pastry cake at home

In the first version, a puff pastry cake is prepared at home according to the full program: with preparing dough and cream, baking cakes, etc. In the second version, there is no need to mess with flour - the dough is already ready.

First option. First prepare the dough:

mix vinegar with water.
beat eggs with salt, add vinegar water.

Cut the butter and margarine into small pieces and place in the flour sifted on the table.

cut the butter with flour with a knife (at the end of the operation, knead small pieces with your fingers).

Form a mound of flour, make a hole and pour in the egg mixture.

knead the dough. Divide it into 12 parts. Roll each into a ball, wrap in film and put in the refrigerator for an hour and a half.

Option 2

Cooking time: 1.5 hours.

This is a “quick” puff pastry cake - there is no need to make the dough, but it should be prepared in advance for baking:

Open the package and leave to defrost at room temperature.
After defrosting, carefully unfold the rolls and cut into equal parts (3-4).

Before you make a cake from ready-made puff pastry, you need to defrost it properly. Frozen puff pastry should not be thawed in the microwave. The dough dries out under the influence of waves, changes its structure and becomes unusable.

The second stage of preparing a puff pastry cake is baking the cake layers. While the dough is in the refrigerator/defrosting, preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Roll out a piece of dough (remove from the refrigerator one at a time) with a rolling pin (as thin as possible - up to 2-3 mm).

Place the dough on a baking sheet and cut out a circle to fit the size of the dish (plate, pan, etc.).

Prick the dough with a fork in different places (to prevent it from bubbling during baking) and place in the oven.

bake each puff pastry cake layer for 7-10 minutes (the recipe with photo shows that the time depends on the thickness of the cake). The crust should be crispy and golden brown.

Puff pastry cream recipe

Sour cream for puff pastry cake is very simple to prepare: mix sour cream with powdered sugar and vanilla, beat with a mixer or whisk.

The cream for the “quick” version is made in several steps:

Mix the butterscotch and softened butter with a mixer (at low speed).

Whip the cream in a separate container (pre-cooled) until it becomes thick.

Combine the cream with the butter-toffee mixture and mix thoroughly.

When whipping cream, you should not get carried away - if you overdo it, the cream will turn into butter.

When baking a puff pastry cake, you should pay special attention to soaking it in cream, because the filling largely determines the taste of the future dessert.

The cakes have cooled, the cream is ready, and you can proceed to the next step:

Apply the cream to the cake layer, place the next one on top, apply the cream again and do this with all the cake layers. Grease the sides of the cake with cream. The layer cake should be well coated (you can see this step by step in the recipe with photos).

Before you start greasing the cakes, part of the cream should be set aside, otherwise you can get carried away and use up the entire supply on the cakes. This cream will be needed for the final decoration of the cake.

put the cake in the refrigerator for better soaking. It will acquire softness and a more even shape. It is advisable to cover the cake so that it does not absorb odors.
Do not soak the cake scraps remaining after baking with cream and do not put them in the refrigerator - they should retain their crispness.

How to beautifully decorate and serve a puff pastry cake

The final stage is cake design. A layer cake (as the recipe prescribes) is easy to make at home. For convenience, the bottom of the dish should be covered with strips of parchment (this will protect the edges of the dish from drops, drips of cream, and crumbs). After removing the cake from the refrigerator, you must:

place on a dish and spread the remaining cream on those places where it is completely absorbed or where there are cracks;

chop the reserved scraps into crumbs and sprinkle them over the entire cake (starting from the sides);

There is not always time to bake Napoleon, since a lot of time is spent on preparing puff pastry. Fortunately, modern industry has now become so successful that buying dough for this cake is not a problem. Let’s even say that the problem is in choosing this product, since new brands and types of packaging are constantly appearing on the market. You can even buy sheets of dough rolled into a tube. When you unroll them, you don’t even have to work with a rolling pin for long, since each layer is so thin that you can immediately lay it on a prepared baking sheet and put it in a preheated oven. Only a very lazy person cannot make a cake from this type of dough. But since there is a large selection of products, you need to learn to understand them.

Types of puff pastry

There are two types of puff pastry - yeast and yeast-free.

Both are available for sale and you can make a wonderful Napoleon cake from store-bought dough easily and quickly. How does one type differ from another? Firstly, the recipe for yeast dough is described in detail on our website in several articles - it involves constant cooling and rolling out the dough, and then gradually wrapping it in 256 layers. Secondly, the dough itself, although tasty, takes so much time and effort to prepare on your own that at some point you start to think about a purchased version.

Both types of this dough are perfectly stored in the refrigerator, or rather in the freezer, tightly sealed with cling film.

Before buying puff pastry in a store, carefully read its composition.

The classic recipe for yeast-free puff pastry includes:

Premium flour;
Water;
Salt;
Butter or cream margarine.

While a yeast dough recipe must have the following ingredients listed on the package:

Premium flour;
Butter;
Yeast;
Salt;
Sugar;
Milk;
Eggs.

In addition, the storage regime in the store must be observed, which must be prescribed on the packaging. But it is also worth noting that any large bakery plant in any city in our country always prepares fresh puff pastry for sale. Of course, at the time of sale you will not find any instructions or composition on it, but you can always ask for the certificate that is attached to this product and kept by the seller.

Preparing baked goods from ready-made dough - a quick version of the cake

If you decide to bake a Napoleon cake from ready-made puff pastry, then all the work will consist of rolling out the cakes, baking them and coating them with any cream.

Of course, the fastest and easiest recipe is making a quiche.

It is not only simple, but also quite budget-friendly in our cash-strapped times. In order to supply the cake with custard, you do not need to run to a nearby store, since all the products are usually in the refrigerator. The recipe for this type of cake layer is described in detail in the custard section on our website. There you can choose the most suitable option for yourself.

Now the recipe for making the cake itself.

It is necessary to cut a piece of dough from the total mass, roll it out on a flour-dusted table and transfer it to a baking sheet previously covered with baking parchment. The best option is to prick the cake with a fork, as this will prevent it from puffing up too much and forming large air bubbles.

You can assemble the Napoleon only after the cakes have completely cooled and soaked, since the hot layers flavored with custard will immediately fall and a cake of 8-10 cakes will seem like a thick pancake rather than an appetizing cake. The cream should also cool completely by the time you assemble the cake, since the hot cream will be strongly absorbed into the cakes.

Baking the cakes does not take more than 15-20 minutes each in an oven preheated to 200 degrees, but it all depends on the configuration and quality of your stove. You must carefully monitor the preparation to ensure that the cakes do not burn.

Therefore, a 10-layer cake will take more than 2 hours to cook if you only use one baking rack.

Therefore, it is better to prepare the cream first, and while it cools, do all the steps with the layers of the cake.

But if you want a cake coated with boiled condensed milk, then you need to cook it the evening before the day of preparing Napoleon himself. It is also worth considering that to coat with any condensed milk, this product takes too much. When I baked a cake from purchased dough, I had to make cream from condensed milk and butter. Even in the ratio of a can of condensed milk to a stick of butter, it took me about 2.5 cans of dairy product per 2.5 kg of puff pastry.

In this case, it is better to prepare all the necessary products in advance with a reserve if you decide to use the cake recipe for a holiday with a large number of guests.

If you want to use cream with condensed milk and butter to soak the cake, then the ratio should be somewhat different from what you are usually used to seeing in this cream. There should be a little more condensed milk. The normal ratio is 2 cans of condensed milk and 1.5 sticks of butter. The cream will be more liquid, but at the same time it will soak a large number of cakes well.

Of course, the recipe for cream with condensed milk and butter is the simplest, but it does not soak the layers very well, so most housewives prefer to prepare custard with butter to soak the cake.

One simple recipe

For the simplest and fastest napoleon you will need a kilogram of ready-made puff pastry, a pack of butter, a can of condensed milk and 200 grams. cream.

You need to start by rolling out the dough, cut it into equal pieces, then roll each piece into a layer no more than 5 mm thick.

Then each layer must be pricked with a fork and cut according to the template. Bake in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for no more than 20 minutes each.

The more cakes, the tastier your Napoleon will be.

When all the cakes are baked, you need to start preparing the cream.

Which is not too difficult to make from softened butter. To prepare the cream, beat the butter until white and fluffy with a mixer. Then add condensed milk and milk. Beat all the cream well with a mixer and soak the well-cooled cakes.

We bake the dough scraps a little longer than the main cakes, then break or chop them with a knife. Sprinkle the chopped scraps over the cake on all sides, not forgetting the side surfaces.

This simple recipe can be implemented even by a novice cook.

The only thing you need to remember is the long-term soaking of the cakes in the refrigerator. The finished and decorated cake must stand in the cold for at least 12 hours to be completely soaked. Cream will contribute to a softer taste, and condensed milk will add sweetness to the cake itself.

It is always worth remembering that no sugar is added to puff pastry without yeast, so the cakes turn out unleavened. And if you need a dessert with a bright sweet taste, then the bulk of sugar or any sugar-containing product is added to the cream. You shouldn’t skimp on the fondant for soaking each layer, since the better the finished dessert is soaked, the brighter its taste will be.

Prepared Napoleon soaked in condensed milk and butter can be stored in the freezer, carefully packed in cling film for up to 7 days. This cake should be defrosted at room temperature for no more than 2 hours. But you can simply move it from the freezer to the refrigerator for one night and calmly enjoy a delicious cake in the morning.

Also, ready-made puff pastry should not be defrosted in the microwave, since even the defrosting mode can dry out the dough too much and make it unsuitable for rolling. For this reason, the dough is also defrosted at room temperature.